Author: VKM

Categories
Trauma

Symptoms of Trauma in Adults

When you’ve been through something (or are going through something), it may be difficult to know if what you’re feeling is related to the trauma you’ve experienced or if it’s just part of the experience of being you. 

Understanding the root of the symptoms you want to change or heal can offer you a lot of leverage in overcoming the ways that trauma impacts you as an adult no matter when it happened. So let’s talk about it. 

What exactly is trauma? 

Though the official definition of trauma implies that it must be something massive and terrible, there are levels of trauma just like anything else we experience in life. Trauma may be a life-defining terrible event you can’t shake like destruction or disaster. Alternatively, trauma may be a series of small things that changed the way you perceive your own safety. 

Holistically, trauma is any event (or series of events) that compromise your ability to differentiate between risk and security. It can occur at any time in your life and persist for any amount of time beyond the event itself. Trauma is an insidious emotional reaction to an experience. 

Trauma is the great pretender 

One of the most difficult things about trauma, and the symptoms of having experienced it, is how variable the way it shows up may be. For some, they may push their trauma so far away that they experience amnesia around the event. They can’t even recall what happened, nor correlate their responses to it. 

Symptoms of trauma in adults span every system of the body as wholly as they stretch across lived experiences. Below, we’ve covered some of the primary symptom groups that adults who have experienced trauma may continue to face. 

Dysregulated moods 

When something has happened to you that makes it difficult to feel safe in your emotions or physical environment, your moods may suffer. From depression to anxiety or even bouts of manic productivity, mood dysregulation is a trauma symptom that can have a major impact on your daily life. 

Substance use disorders 

Drowning reality in drink or drugs may seem like the best or only option when you’ve been through something you can’t confront. Whether the trauma you’ve experienced was ongoing or a one-time thing, and no matter when it occurred, it can be difficult to get through it when you don’t feel you have the tools to get through it. For some, substance use is a way of coping and for others, it simply represents escape. 

Trouble with sleep 

Insomnia, nightmares, and broken sleep are all common symptoms of trauma in adults after a traumatic experience. If you’re reliving terror and powerlessness every time you close your eyes, falling asleep can feel like walking into battle every night. 

Hypo- or Hyper-arousal

Whether the trauma you’ve experienced makes you feel constantly on edge or frozen in time, trauma may cause trouble regulating your existential equilibrium. You may feel the need to overcompensate, overproduce and over plan in an attempt to control the risk in your life. Alternatively, you may experience no motivation for anything and find the idea of even trying to be utterly overwhelming. 

Relationship complexity 

Having healthy relationships can be especially difficult for those who have been a victim of harm as a part of their trauma. Whether it was childhood trauma, sexual violence or other physical or emotional violations, trauma complicates things. You may struggle to let people in, feeling lonely as a result. In contrast, some people cling to their relationships at the expense of their own security.

Physical illness 

Trauma takes up physical space in the body. The toll of trauma may lower your immune system, cause stagnant pain in joints and body systems or cause chronic pain. Trauma has been linked to GI manifestations of anxiety as well as stress. 

Flashbacks 

Perhaps the most well-known symptoms of trauma in adults is flashbacks. Revisiting the things that haunt you lead to feelings of helplessness as you relive a waking nightmare with little control over when it comes on or when it will end. Flashbacks are often a cause of retraumatization and occur in many types of trauma. 

How can we help? 

You may not know where to begin in unraveling the tangled mass of shadows trauma casts over the light in your world, especially when it has led you to addiction’s doorstep. But that’s okay, you don’t have to know. At Villa Kali Ma, we have a broad range of therapies and tools we can use to help you create a precision map out of the darkness of trauma and the ways it’s driven you to cope. Together, we’ll navigate your pull towards substances day by day to create a customized recovery plan focused on the holistic experience of being you, through trauma and beyond. Call us today. 

Categories
Wellness

Exercise And Mental Health

Exercise can change more than your physical body. Did you know you can move your way to more bountiful mental health? We don’t just mean yoga either (though we love it- and believe that it’s an important part of healing)! Many kinds of exercise can be a powerful benefit to shaping your mental health to reflect a more holistic relationship with the body you nourish with movement. 

Create movement your way

There is a nearly limitless way to engage in exercise routines that fuels your fulfillment. From dancing in the kitchen while you cook or trail running to yoga or high-intensity workout routines, there are options to make it what you need. You can move your body in the manner of your choosing. Your exercise can take place at the discretion of your schedule and through the everchanging scope of your personal needs without ever being questioned about its validity. 

Exercise can reduce your risk factors for co-occurring disorders 

Two of the key ways that exercise supports a healthier relationship with your mind and mood are by helping to improve your sleep and focusing the mind on reducing the power of intrusive thoughts. Better sleep sets you up for a healthier frame of mind, and the feel-good hormone boost exercise provides can reduce lingering anxiety and help you rewrite your response to your mental wellness. 

Imagine a day spent in nature, hiking a mountain with stunning views and rugged terrain. When you fall into bed that night, you won’t have so much energy to focus on the niggling anxieties that linger in the quiet. By exhausting the energy reserves in your body, there is a decreased risk of insomnia as you fall into bed for sleep at night. 

Similarly, is it possible to dwell on the lingering fog of burnout when you’re trying to remember a complicated series of asana in your yoga class? Breaking the hold of those thoughts on your focus reduces the risk of anxiety playing havoc with other mental health symptoms. 

Additionally, exercise can reduce blood pressure and resting heart rate while increasing your body confidence. These things can align to minimize stress on the body and body image, both of which can improve your physical and mental health. 

Exercise is not a mental health solution; it’s a holistic tool 

Any age. Any movement. Any body. No matter the exercise you choose, it won’t solve your mental health concerns. It won’t cure your depression or alleviate your compulsions. It’s not meant to fix anything, but it can help. Moving your body productively in a manner that feels good to you is a way to reconnect with yourself so that you can rewrite the relationship of wholeness that feeds your future. There is no single way to do this, and there’s certainly no easy one. But a beautiful place to begin is one focused on using the tools that support you now and can grow with you into the future. 

Your holistic being is incredibly responsive to the things you use to fuel it. When you change your diet, your body notices in systematic response to the way you’ve chosen to engage with it. It’s like a conversation: your taste buds signal the stomach, which employs the digestive process, and your body begins the myriad of processes that break down your food into usable nutrients and energy. 

It does much the same for your mind when you exercise. The uptick in heart rate and engagement of your vascular system signals a waterfall response that triggers different hormones to prepare and engage with the way you’re using your body and its energy to move through your exercise. 

You can’t get it wrong

Exercise has something to offer everyone for body, mind, and spirit because no one can get it wrong. There is infinite value in entering a space of healing with the knowledge that this is your choice, and you can create the way that looks and feels for you. From scheduling to activity, your relationship with exercise as a tool for your mental health is yours to cultivate in the ways that feel best for you. 

You are choosing to move your body to support your mind, and that choice puts the power of change back into your hands- exactly where it belongs. You are capable of changing your life, one step at a time. With the boost in brain power and sleep that moving your body can provide, you will have more space in your life to focus your energy on changing the things that do not serve you so you can celebrate the things that do. 

Categories
Mental Health

5 Myths About Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that alters your brain chemistry, resulting in extreme and unstable moods. These extreme fluctuations, and the slow cycling between them are that set bipolar disorder apart from mood swings make it difficult for the body to adjust to what you’re feeling, resulting in an inability to live holistically with unmanaged bipolar disorder. Taking charge of your health and cultivating a healing relationship with your mind is empowering, but it may feel scary or confusing to do so with so much misinformation littering the helpful finds. 

Whether you are looking to destigmatize your own experience with bipolar, understand a loved one’s diagnosis or make sense of the impact bipolar disorder has had on your life, let’s begin by separating the fact from the myth with us below. 

1.) Myth: There’s one kind of bipolar disorder.

Fact: There are currently four specific types of bipolar disorder. 

According to the DSM-5, the symptoms of bipolar most commonly occur in four ways. 

Bipolar I is a manic-dominant episodic mood disorder, while bipolar II is marked by experiences of both hypomanic and depressive episodes. Cyclothymia is characterized by symptoms similar to bipolar disorder and is classified as a milder subtype of erratic cyclical periods of mania and depression. Lastly, bipolar not otherwise specified (NOS) has the hallmark bipolar symptoms of unpredictable and extreme mood shifts but doesn’t quite fit any typing. 

2.) Myth: Bipolar is just a fancy term for mood swings. 

Fact: Bipolar Disorder is a chronic disorder of mood episodes. 

Mood swings are a cycle of human experience. People move through the world responding to the things they see and feel. Those responses create moods, and those moods may change quickly but typically last minutes or hours. When you live with bipolar disorder, mood episodes that last for days or more often weeks are a draining part of your lived experience. It is not something that happens to you occasionally or cycles past quickly, but something that you live alongside constantly. 

3.) Myth: Treating your bipolar disorder will kill your creativity. 

Fact: Your art is not a product of your struggle. 

While mania may make you feel like you’ve had a stroke of genius, there is no sustainability to manic episodes. Receiving treatment that makes you feel empowered can hone your artistic instincts, but it doesn’t change who you are or what you’re capable of. You can strip back the unparalleled ferocity of disordered moods to cultivate controlled chaos that allows you to use your creativity in ways that feel best for you.

4.) Myth: Bipolar disorder is curable. 

Fact: Bipolar disorder is treatable. 

There is no cure for a disordered brain response to the hormones that influence your mood. Diagnosis is a phenomenal first step to controlling the power your mood episodes have over your daily life, however. Alongside possible treatments from a physician for symptoms of bipolar affecting your health, treatments for mind, body and spirit can help to align and balance your response to mood episodes. Even still, you may still experience symptoms of bipolar and there is nothing wrong with you if that’s the case. 

5.) Myth: Bipolar disorder is rare. 

Fact: Bipolar affects millions of people. 

Over 2.5% of the world’s population are diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and there are undoubtedly many who remain undiagnosed. There are a number of factors that increase the likelihood of developing it, notably having a family history of mood disorders. You are not alone in experiencing the difficult and often confusing symptoms of bipolar disorder, and connecting with others who can relate to your experiences may be a cathartic part of your healing.  

Living with any mood disorder can be fraught with confusion and frustration. Particularly when you are living (or learning to live) with bipolar disorder, fighting the uphill battle against myths and misunderstanding feels like a lot. It is a lot, but you don’t have to do it alone. 

Community is key for feeling supported as you navigate the struggles (and strengths) of your unique bipolar experience. Whether you are struggling with co-occuring conditions like substance use or just looking to be understood, developing supportive relationships is key to flourishing with bipolar. 

Your experience is unique, tailored to who you are and what you need as a holistic person.  The treatment you seek for your bipolar disorder should be too. Being honest about the experiences you have with bipolar, the struggles you face and the healing you’re hoping for are all within reach when you begin to untangle the myth from fact. Your bipolar disorder is not your identity. There is hope, and Villa Kali Ma is here to help you heal. 

 

 

Categories
Mental Health

How to Improve Mental Clarity (5 Tips to a clearer mind)

You’re sitting at your keyboard preparing for that meeting in 10 minutes and you know exactly what you need to accomplish before it starts, but every time you return to your task you find yourself refreshing your email. You don’t need your email. Indeed, you don’t even need your computer for this task but you’re caught in the loop of brain fog and struggling to accomplish anything beyond the immediate. 

Feel familiar? Us too.  

The daily mix of routine and upheaval can be a battle of wills between body and mind. If you’re struggling to find the clarity you need to win that battle today, we’ve got you covered. With five tips to find your way through the fog and a variety of programs to support you, let’s clear the haze together. 

1. Get the rest you need

Everyone has differing opinions on how much sleep we need to be successful and well rested. Both sleep deprivation and sleep cycle disruption can contribute to the feeling of brain fog that invades your waking hours.

If getting 8 hours doesn’t feel attainable or isn’t doing the trick, try focusing on the quality of sleep as well as finding ways to rest your body and reset. By reducing pre-bedtime screen exposure to focus on relaxation and lowering the temperature, you can create a more ambient resting space to make the most of your sleep. 

2. Connect with nature 

That sweet, sweet vitamin D does us all a little good but even if the sun isn’t shining, getting outside can be a powerful way to sweep away the dust in your mind. Increase clarity by going for a walk to get your blood pumping and take in the world around you as you go. 

Plan a hike to that summit you’ve always wanted to see or go explore a forgotten corner of your local beach. Spending time in less structured spaces and engaging with the beauty of the world around you is a powerful way to create a clearer consciousness. 

3. Focus with mindfulness 

Our mindfulness practices give a boost to body, mind and spirit. Both mindfulness and meditation can help you to  increase your focus, productivity and blood oxygenation levels- all a part of a clear mind. 

If you’ve never practiced mindfulness before, it may seem quite simple. Focusing inward on the breath and acceptance of whatever comes can be trickier than meets the eye. If you find yourself struggling, stepping out of your comfort zone and trying a group practice may help hone your mindfulness skills. 

4. Eat more brain fuel 

You already have to eat, so you may as well make that food work for you.  What we eat becomes a part of who we are and how we think. Balancing your diet to include the things that help superpower our brain function will maximize clarity without an active task to add to your schedule. 

Your brain is made primarily of fats, so a healthy dose of omega-3s will replenish and support your busy brain cells every day. Add a bit of caffeine for a supercharged boost to energy – make it green tea to double up on beneficial brain food. Last, focus on antioxidant intake from a variety of foods like blueberries, oranges, turmeric, or even broccoli for a colorful edge. 

5. Anchor yourself with awareness

Whether it’s awareness of the task you’re creating or awareness of your limitations, being aware of what may crowd your mind helps to lessen the burden. Distractions that creep in gives them the element of surprise, which can add to the stress, so give them breathing room for 5 or 10 minutes a day.

“Every day, stand guard at the door of your mind, and you alone decide what thoughts and beliefs you let into your life. For they will shape whether you feel rich or poor, cursed or blessed.”

– John Rhone

 

Stay aware of the shape of your task. Providing some structure to your headspace (and your schedule) by putting a hard limit on how long those distractions can take a front seat can help you to navigate them with more control. 

Clarity is more than concentration 

There are so many facets to the things that go on in our mind. From conscious to unconscious, we move through millions of moments and processes every day. Some linger, creating a condensation of complication that can gather into a haze and keep us from feeling our best. That doesn’t feel great, especially when you’re busier than you want to be and still have so much to do. 

You have the power to lift the fog and clear your mind. With the tools we’ve learned together and the many you arrived here with, clarity is already within your grasp. For more support or individual guidance, reach out to us today. 

Categories
Substance Abuse

Confronting Substance Triggers in Media 

Have you ever flipped on a favorite show or read a scene in a book you’ve been anticipating, only to be confronted with a reference to substance use that hits you right in the chest? The reference or exposure may be casual, often the “spice” on a scene instead of the point, but you’re sweating and feeling a little bit too crowded in your skin. 

Being confronted with our triggers in the media we consume is often uncomfortable, but when you’re in recovery, it happens a lot more often. Maybe you’re okay with it most of the time, or you’ve learned to gloss over it, and this time it’s just too much. Or maybe, you’re still learning. Either way, support and validation in this situation are both essential, and you should know: there’s nothing wrong with feeling uneasy about seeing these things, even in the media. Let’s talk about some of the reasons this happens and ways you can navigate it to support your recovery—both physically and emotionally. 

Early influence 

From a young age, we see drinking and smoking in the media we consume. In some scenarios, it’s depicted as the villain or in a somewhat accurate light, but the majority of the time, it just exists as a normalized part of the world. Drinking is, at best, just something that people do, and, in other programming, it’s glamorized as something to aspire to. The cool kids drink, the alt kids smoke, and later on, it’s the central theme of glamorous or exciting events in the lives of characters we’ve come to love. 

This early exposure was ingrained well before substance abuse found its way into your life, and those connotations have stuck in your mind. You see it now from the other side of the lens and feel a conflict that never existed for you before: the nostalgic normalcy and the ache of your reality in recovery. 

While you can’t banish those early impressions, you can focus on rewriting them. Practice validating your own narrative when you feel that insidious nostalgia rising with reminders like: 

  • Drinking wasn’t fun for me, and I have fun doing ___. 

Fill the blank with an activity that makes you feel good about yourself. 

  • Drug use isn’t glamorous, and my own experiences matter more than fiction. 
  • It’s okay for others to have these experiences even when I didn’t. 

Ultimately, you take up the most space in your own life, and you don’t have to reframe your thoughts if it doesn’t feel comfortable. It’s always okay to turn the channel or put down the book if the behavior makes you feel unsafe. 

Festive frustration 

The holidays have a way of making us all feel a bit less level, after all, and as we take the slow slide into sweater and stress weather, things that normally feel okay can be a bit trickier to navigate. Maybe the celebrations ask you to spend more time with loved ones you don’t see often or relationships that were a part of your life during active substance use. These things may pull your awareness right up to the top of your emotional meter, making it that much more apparent when the wine bottle goes around at Thanksgiving dinner or when you hear the ninth commercial for beer on the radio during your holiday gift shopping. 

The exposure can feel like an endless assault on top of the emotions of the holidays themselves, and when stress runs so high, it’s more difficult to look away when you feel its influence more acutely. 

While you can’t turn off the celebrations or the season, you can prepare yourself for the exposure by bringing your own drinks or taking charge of the conversation to mention your sobriety so that it doesn’t feel like the elephant in the room. Being open about how you’re feeling with someone you trust will also help you to feel less overwhelmed by the prevalence of substances in holiday media. 

Exposure to parts of your history in a glamorized or socially celebrated spaces that you respect can feel chafing at best and triggering in other instances. There is no one size fits all solution in protecting your recovery and rewriting your relationship with a media culture that glamorizes something so personal to you. Still, there are many routes you can tailor to your situation to find one that fits. At any stage in the journey, we’re happy to help supplement your coping tools and navigate these constant confrontations so that you can feel confident in your own life, your recovery and that Netflix guilty pleasure you don’t want to stop watching. 

Categories
Mental Health

How To Get The Most Out Of Therapy

Therapy is the multitool of healing. With various shapes and applications, there’s a suitable fit for everyone, but finding the right fit for you and figuring out how to get the most out of therapy can be entirely different processes. 

Maybe it’s your first time, and you’re feeling overwhelmed, or you’re just starting back, and the thought of establishing such a relationship again feels overwhelming to you. Or maybe the expanse of possibility- and your role in it- is the very thing holding you back from beginning at all. 

There are many things you can do to contribute to the benefit of your therapeutic experiences. The most crucial part is that you’re here and you’re willing, but we want to help you build on the knowledge you can bring into the therapeutic relationship to ensure you leave feeling as empowered as possible. From session to session to the overarching tone of your healing journey, you deserve to feel prepared. 

So, how can you get the most out of therapy? 

Be accountable 

Taking responsibility for your actions as well as your attitudes and emotions is a valuable part of the therapeutic process. Accountability is the process of recognizing the gravity of your consciousness in the way you exist in the world, even when that gravity feels uncomfortable. This may mean accepting fault for wrongdoing or bearing the knowledge that the way you engage with those around you altered the situation you encountered in a way that wasn’t ideal. 

It’s not all hard revelations, though. Accountability also means accepting the positive consequences of your presence or actions. Being accountable for the knowledge you bring or the value of your impact on situations that grew or expanded because you were a part of them can help you identify strengths and develop those skills to be a more comprehensive part of your worldview. 

Embracing accountability as a required part of your healing will help you to help yourself by seeing the places you could respond to old feelings or experiences in new ways. In turn, this will create the space for your therapist to help you build your skillset at recognizing those opportunities for growth and the tools to unlock new potential for your compassionate accountability to serve you positively. 

Embrace curiosity 

An element of the curious lingers in the unfamiliar. Often, we grow to recognize this with resistance or suspicion. Some of us may experience new things with an edge of defensiveness. Embracing the unfamiliar in all its formats can help you expand your holistic perspective beyond your most hopeful daydreams by embracing the possibility hidden in the mundane. 

 

What if I am bad at this?  ⟶ What if this is a hidden strength?
What if my plans go wrong? ⟶ What if my plans go right?
What if it’s painful?  ⟶ What if it’s liberating?
What if no one likes me? ⟶ What if I find space to belong?

If you’ve ever experienced anxiety, you’re familiar with the power of the “what if?’. By inviting curiosity into your therapeutic spaces, you can re-shape the impact of “what if?” by offering it a connotation of wonder. Curiosity can be a powerful way to engage your imagination as an active part of reshaping your reality when you allow yourself to flourish in the safety of therapy, guided by an expert who is there to support you through the experiences you have. 

Speak up 

You are your most powerful ally. Using your voice to communicate clearly and concisely about what you need and how you feel is an important tool you can use to guide your therapeutic experience. If you know what you want from therapy or have specific goals, share them. Suppose there’s something that’s not working or you think could be going better. In that case, it’s okay to initiate a conversation about re-evaluating those elements to ensure they’re an ideal fit for where you are today. Maybe the space you occupy on your recovery journey has changed, or the emotions you’re experiencing have been impacted by something you couldn’t have anticipated. 

No matter what it is that’s weighing on you, good or bad, you are a powerful advocate for your needs. Through therapy, you’ll learn how to use it, and here is the best place to exercise its power to ensure you are getting the most beneficial support possible. 

Show Up, Authentically 

The most valuable tip we can offer you is to be authentic. Show up as your whole self for the whole time. From the very start, it’s key to ensure your therapist sees all sides of your personality. Resist the urge to downplay your strengths and gloss over your flaws. You are here to grow, and judgment of your character has no place in a holistic healing relationship. When you bring your authentic self to therapy, you invite the therapist into the vulnerable spaces where healing begins so it can take place most holistically. 

You have the power to shape your healing journey, and we’re here to help along the way. 

Categories
Addiction Treatment

Meditation for Addiction Recovery

Much like a yoga practice requiring consistent attention and self-compassion, recovery is exactly that—a practice. It’s an evolving effort toward something that you can never truly master but always find space to grow. Making room for both joy and peace in equal measure is one of the best ways to make continual progress in your recovery practice and avoid becoming burnt out. 

Including meditation in your recovery plan is a versatile way to capture those feelings and many others. This unique tool requires dedication to a single goal: to look inward and discover the profound capability already there. So what is meditation, exactly? And how does it overlap so beautifully with addiction recovery?

Meditation & Recovery: Same, but different

While meditation and recovery are vastly different processes, they ask a few similar things of us: to be patient with our bodies and minds, to continue even when it’s frustrating, and to learn to observe our thoughts and feelings without acting on them. Both meditation and recovery mean accepting our past actions (and our future ones too) without judgement so that we can reconcile those things within us and find peace. Maybe that peace is brief, but the practice of reaching for it is the experience we’re after. 

Meditation doesn’t ask you to be someone different. It’s not asking you to show up without a past or without a future. Recovery is much the same. And, like meditation, you may find yourself frustrated as you try to exercise a new skill you haven’t accessed before, but no one expects you to get either perfect on the first or thousandth day of practice. 

How to begin 

It’s easy to get caught up in how long it takes to develop a habit, especially if you’re new to something and want to be able to gauge when it will feel like second nature. Trying to find that answer may just be setting yourself up for failure in meditation or recovery- so try starting from the beginning every day that you show up. 

You may choose to listen to a guided meditation, watch a video or remember your time in treatment benefitting from a meditation program like ours. No matter how you begin, remember that your mind will wander, and that’s okay. Let the mind wander as the body relaxes, and you learn to find your center. Celebrate the little successes when you show up for yourself, and in meditation, those successes may truly be little. Setting realistic goals and expectations for yourself is the most empowering tool you can give yourself as you begin a meditation practice. 

Benefits of Meditation for Recovery 

There are as many benefits to meditation as there are types of meditation. While you’ll be the best expert in what you need from a meditation practice as you begin to narrow down which style may be the right fit for you, there are a few constant benefits when paired with your recovery. 

  • Improved mental health comes from spending time clearing out the dust and settling into the spaces between them for a fresh perspective. 
  • Thought awareness will allow you to notice what you think and feel without attaching judgment or obligation to act on them. 
  • Stronger self-control results from the discipline to return to a practice that isn’t innate to how our world moves and will condition you to respond with patience and persistence to your body and mind. 
  • Experience more confidence in your thoughts and decisions, as well as your ability to navigate them when they feel overwhelming. 

Mantras and Reassurance for your practices 

It can be frustrating to try things you aren’t good at or contrary to the habits you’ve cultivated, even when those habits aren’t serving you. You’ve already done the hard work of recognizing that and reaching for healing that will benefit you in undertaking addiction recovery and now considering adding meditation to your daily practice. We’d like to offer a few mantras you can repeat to yourself when the complexity of emotions overwhelms you. 

“This is not a waste of time.”

“My efforts are my success, not the end result.”

“I am worth the energy to try.”

“I showed up today and that is good.” 

“I cannot force this.”

Each of these mantras represents an essential part of your empowerment in developing these practices alongside one another. Both your recovery and meditation efforts will benefit from taking the time to recognize your capability to continue to show up and put energy into yourself as you are. You do not need to be anyone else or let go of any of the core parts of you to succeed in connecting body to mind to move toward a harmonious future of healing. You are already something wonderful: you are yourself, and that’s a perfectly precise thing to be. 

Categories
Mental Health

What is Individual Therapy?

What exactly is individual therapy? As an umbrella term for one type of mental health support, this one-on-one therapeutic offering encompasses a large range of treatment shapes and styles. Let’s explore the different types of individual therapy you may encounter, who will benefit and why it’s worth considering individual therapy as a part of your holistic recovery.

Just the two of us

Individual therapy is, in the simplest of definitions, any service you receive that’s direct work between yourself and a professional therapist. In this format, you’ll be the sole focus of expert attention to isolate and navigate the struggles currently at the center of your need to heal. This is uniquely empowering for those new to therapy, or who are still trying to untangle the events that led you to where you are right now. Much like trauma, healing is often not a linear path. Individual therapy gives you the space to breathe into your tangled past and sort through them with a guiding hand of focused support to achieve the healing you crave. 

Putting yourself first 

When you’re the only one participating, it’s difficult to focus on someone else. Individual therapy is a case study in doing just that: centering your experiences and emotions in the way you live and finding ways to make that align with the way you want to heal. If you are struggling to focus on your own thoughts and feelings, or to isolate them from other input, individual therapy offers a unique opportunity to re-center. 

One and many 

While the central theme of individual therapy is the direct relationship you’ll have with your therapist as well as your healing, there are many ways to go about navigating it. Individual therapy can be formulated around any of the central theories of counseling. The shape it can take is nearly as limitless as the sand on the beach, and each approach can be shaped and molded to exactly what you need. 

The most common form of individual therapy is cognitive behavioral therapy, abbreviated as CBT and most often known as talk therapy. In this format, the conversation focuses around the experiences and emotions that currently form your headspace. As you work together to draw connections between those things, your therapist will help you to develop new tools to cope with anything that’s holding you back so you can be an active part of the work you do to overcome your trauma. 

Curated healing

One of the most unique benefits of individual therapy is the ability to combine a number of theories and therapeutic practices to curate an experience that benefits you, specifically. Many of the theories that inform the practice of psychotherapy are based on narrow fields of research focused on one area of development or healing. 

When working with a client one on one, your therapist has the opportunity to take what works and discard what doesn’t so that you get the most personalized healing possible. We can combine modalities like EMDR directly with more personally applied healing like mindfulness or art to give you exactly what you need to feel grounded. These combined therapy methods will ensure you the best possible chance of engaging with a multitude of opportunities for healing in a holistic manner instead of parting them out to be cared for separately. 

Group Sessions Build on Individual Therapy

The value of having others to validate and normalize what you feel or have experienced can be priceless. A sense of community can be the difference between healing and thriving at any stage of recovery, so even for those who value the one-on-one support of individual therapy, seeking out group support is invaluable. 

Villa Kali Ma has a myriad of offerings for group therapeutic sessions that complement the work accomplished in individual therapy. Shared therapeutic settings will play off the insights gained when processing with your primary therapist. You’ll find that even when you’re focused on your own healing, you can find the balance between your shared and solitary jouney. Working in this harmonious fashion will allow you to garner every benefit from the range of individual therapies without truly sacrificing the irreplaceable experience of shared healing. 

No matter the way you best learn or access your healing, there is an individual therapy offering for you. Your clinical and holistic team will meet you one on one for walks and talks, or guide you through a more active modality like yoga or breath work. Elements from the things you’re passionate about and the healing you’re looking for are sure to blend beautifully under the curated care of our expert treatment team. 

At Villa Kali Ma, we offer a myriad of individual therapy services that are offered independently or in tandem with group and network healing therapies to get you on a path toward your own bliss. 

Categories
Nutrition

10 Minute Vegan Tacos

These tacos are fast, easy and delicious!

Many people I know have very busy lives and they tell me they just don’t have time to cook for themselves. They want to eat healthy, but they just don’t have the time it takes to prepare a meal, or they are too tired after a long day to spend an hour in the kitchen making dinner. I sometimes feel the same way, and when I do, I throw together these simple tacos that only take about 10 minutes to make. This is a great way to eat healthy without too much effort!

Here’s a suggested list of ingredients but feel free to add or subtract depending on your preference. I always buy organic and local to get the freshest ingredients possible:

Extra Firm Organic Tofu

  • 1 Can of Amy’s Organic Refried Beans (I like the one with mild green chili)
  • 1 sm. Organic Tomato
  • 1 sm. Organic Avocado
  • 1 sm. Box of Organic Greens (I used Organic Girl Protein Greens)
  • 1 container of fresh Organic Salsa (not from a jar)
  • Organic Tortillas (I used Potapas brand Gluten Free Sweet Potato Tortillas)
  • Chili Powder
  • Cumin
  • Garlic Powder
  • Salt & Pepper

Optional Addition Ideas: Canned Sliced Black Olives, Cilantro, Vegan Sour Cream, Jalapeño, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS:

This recipe will make 2 tacos. You will have leftovers of all your ingredients so if you want, you can make them again for breakfast or lunch the following day. 

First prepare your fresh ingredients. I used a quarter of my avocado by cutting it in half, then removing the skin and then cutting it in half again and making slices. Set aside and then dice half of the tomato. If you are using cilantro you can wash and remove stems from the amount you would like to use. All of this should only take about 5 minutes.

Now, empty the can of refried beans into a small saucepan, stir it and then place on a burner on medium heat. Go back and stir it every few minutes. 

Place a small sauté pan on a burner on medium heat and sprinkle ¼ tsp of salt over the pan. Take about 4 oz of your Tofu, wrap it in a paper towel and them a kitchen towel and squeeze the water out with your hands. Then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to your pan and allow about 15 seconds for oil to heat, then swirl the oil around to make sure all of the pan in coated, even the sides. Now crumble your tofu into the pan and sprinkle with your desired amount of the spices. Shake the pan and coat the tofu with the spices. Let cook for about 1 minute, stirring a couple times. Then shut off the heat and remove the pan.

I use the same hot burner to heat my tortillas. I place them right on the burner for about 30 seconds on each side. You can use whatever method you are used to. 

Now build your tacos! Place the beans, tofu, tomato, avocado, greens and salsa on the tortillas and enjoy!

Categories
Addiction Treatment

Coping Skills for Addiction 

Addiction impacts everyone differently. Whether you are experiencing it for yourself or someone you love has a damaging relationship with a numbing agent, the impact extends into every facet of your being. From past to present and stretching well into the future, addiction has a way of lingering. For each of those instances, we want to ensure you’ve got a starting point to cope with what you’re going through and find healing when you’re ready. 

Discover the coping skills for addiction needed to successfully find healing on your journey.

When you’re addicted

There is a single most important skill, strategy, and reminder you deserve to have offered, today and every day until it is as innate as drawing breath and it is only one sentence long:

You are not your addiction, and it does not define you. 

Regardless of the space you’re in on your journey of stability and recovery, this is the truth. Addiction may define the choices you make or the actions you take, but it will never be the sum of your parts or the beat of your heart. You are a whole person, worthy of healing and compassion just as much as you are accountable for your hurt. 

In the thick of it 

Is it a daily battle to keep your tumultuous relationship with alcohol or other substances in check or under wraps from those around you? Are you actively denying your risky behaviors but still feel that twinge of discomfort reading this? 

Take a moment and read the paragraph above once more because even if it speaks true, you are still not defined by your addiction. When you’re in the middle of a raging storm, it may feel dangerous to take the first step toward safety- and it may well be. However, as you work toward that step of owning your struggle and seeking the support you deserve, there are steps you can take to cope with the space you’re in now. 

Wait. When you feel a strong reaction coming on or the urge to use, take a moment. It doesn’t matter if you use this moment to meditate, breathe, or listen to a favorite song but putting a pause between impulse and action can make a big difference.

Open up. Whether it’s to your journal, a friend, or a medical professional, telling someone you trust about the fears and worries you have about your use can begin to build a support system you’ll rely on as you move through the following stages of healing. We’re happy to be a part of that system if you’re ready, and you can reach us here. 

Throughout recovery 

Spending time in recovery can help you feel confident in the skills needed to maintain your sobriety and continue walking a path of holistic healing. Even in those times of recovery, you may find yourself drifting with old temptations nudging against your new lifestyle. You can move through them, and while your support network is the best place to turn to combat those things, there are small skills that will support your agency in your own recovery: 

Stay busy. Find a hobby, a task, or a skill that interests you and commit to learning it. Maybe it’s a single hobby like reading or a niche interest like knitting. Indulging in a consistent activity to keep the mind and body busy and engaged can circumvent the risk of restlessness. 

Talk. It’s that simple. Talk to a loved one, your counselor, a sponsor, or other recovery guide. Talk to your cat, or a song, or your journal. Just purge the silence of your uncertainty into a space you trust. 

Ground in gratitude. Start a gratitude journal that you carry with you, and every time something happens to make you feel unsettled, triggered, or doubtful, jot down something you’re grateful for. It doesn’t have to be big—maybe you’re particularly charmed by the shape of the clouds or that small moment of clarity during the morning’s meditation—but the act of focusing on joy and gratitude can change the focus of your emotional energy. 

Coping with a loved one’s addiction 

When someone you love is struggling or has struggled with a tumultuous relationship with substance abuse, it can be challenging to refocus the relationship and all the emotions that go along with that. Perhaps you’re supporting someone through their early detox, or you’re years in recovery with someone dear to you. Maybe you’ve got a new friendship with someone who has an old relationship with substance abuse. Having a collective of coping skills for addiction to support your loved one while caring for yourself is key. 

One particular skill you can develop is refocusing your social time together. Find activities that don’t include the focus of your loved one’s addiction- and that doesn’t just mean making sure they aren’t exposed to triggers during your time together. Try new hobbies and hangouts to avoid old feelings while they’re feeling vulnerable. 

There is a myriad of coping skills for addiction that we can focus on learning together at any stage of recovery.  Whether you are looking for ongoing support alongside your life or a residential reset to renew your commitment to your healing, we have options that will help you to strengthen not just your coping skills but your flourishing power as well. 

 

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